2. Enroll in your company's 401(k) plan

"Pay yourself first," says Jonathan Meaney, a certified financial planner and wealth manager at Carter Financial. "It's one of the smartest pieces of advice you can get." This means, first and foremost, contribute to your 401(k) if your employer offers one, and take full advantage of your company's 401(k) match program — which is essentially free money — if it has one.

Many experts recommend putting aside at least 10% of your income. If you're not comfortable making a 10% contribution, it's better to start small than not start at all. In fact, self-made millionaire David Bach started by setting aside a mere 1%. Over time, he gradually increased his percentage — from 3% to 10% to 15% — until he reached 20%.

Once you've decided on a percentage to contribute, make it automatic. This way, you'll never even see the money and you'll learn to live without it.

3. Increase your 401(k) contributions

Enrolling in your company's 401(k) plan is step one. Next, you'll want to get in the habit of upping your contribution on a consistent basis, either every six months, at the end of each year, or whenever you get a pay raise. Thanks to compound interest, even a mere 1% increase can go a long way over time.

Check online to see if your plan offers auto-increase. If it does, choose a percentage you want to increase your contributions by and how frequently you want it to increase. If you don't have this option, or are contributing toward different retirement plans without auto-increase, make a reminder note in your calendar every six months or year to up your savings rate.

4. Establish savings goals and start setting aside money

That 10% (or more) you're setting aside feels a lot more pressing if you're saving for "two years of business school" instead of "the future." Setting savings goals for major expenses that you hope will be in your future, like a home, car, laptop, or vacation, is an important part of staying motivated to save.

For instance, taking a $1,000 vacation to Palm Springs a year from today means you need to set aside a little under $3 a day until then. Tweak your budget to accommodate that $90-ish a month by spending a little less, and you'll be well on your way to the desert.

"You can never save enough," Meaney says. "There will always be something to apply that towards. The key is that you set goals and prioritize the things that you want and might want down the road."

It may be helpful to set up multiple savings accounts in order to save for specific purchases. Check the online interface of your bank and see if it will allow you to create alternate savings accounts.

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5. Contribute to a Roth IRA

Another retirement account worth investing in is a Roth IRA, which is particularly suitable for young people. Contributions to this type of fund are taxed when they're made, so you can withdraw the contributions and earnings tax-free once you reach age 59 1/2.

One of the reasons Roth IRAs are well suited to millennials is because younger workers may be earning less today than they will be later on, keeping them in a lower tax bracket and paying less in taxes than they may in the future.

Note that there is an income cap if you want to contribute to a Roth IRA: $116,000 a year or less for individuals and $183,000 or less for married couples filing jointly.

6. Monitor your cash flow and track your spending

Cash flow is one of the most important things to be aware of, particularly in your 20s, when you have the freedom of spending your own paychecks. "You've got to know where your money is going and you've got to make sure that more money is not going out than is coming in," Meaney emphasizes.

Everyday purchases and unexpected expenses have a way of adding up, and trying to keep track of them in your head oftentimes won't cut it. If you're prone to overspending or making impulse purchases, try actively recording and analyzing your spending habits. You'll most likely find something that either you didn't know you were spending your money on, or you felt was unnecessary.

If you don't want to keep a spreadsheet on your computer or write your purchases in a notebook, consider one of the many free budgeting apps out there that help you categorize and monitor your spending.

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7. Get the insurance you need

"If you are a renter, definitely get renter's insurance," says Meaney. In addition to covering break-ins or damage from a fire or severe weather, renter's insurance will cover you if your car is ever broken into. "Anything that is not part of your vehicle that is stolen from your car — golf clubs in your trunk, for example — is not covered by auto insurance," he explains. "Your renter's insurance on the other hand, will cover those items."

Remember, this fund is for a real emergency, and it's important to keep your hands off of it unless something happens that threatens your survival. Consider putting it in a high-interest savings account or a money-market account, which both offer higher interest rates and will allow your money to grow more than it would in a traditional savings account.

Plus, by moving your emergency savings to a separate account, you draw a mental and logistical barrier between this money and your other savings, so you don't accidentally blow it on a trip to the Bahamas.

9. Make quality purchases

Invest in things that have value. While it may be hard to part with your cash, some things are worth spending money on, such as a nice interview suit or new experiences. Check out more smart purchases to make in your 20s.

Quality purchases don't necessarily mean big-ticket items; there are several everyday items to invest in that can pay for themselves in a short amount of time, such as a commuter bike or coffee maker.

10. Take advantage of work benefits

If you're not taking full advantage of your employee benefits, you're leaving money on the table. We talked about contributing to your employer's 401(k) retirement account if it's available, but there are some other overlooked — yet incredibly advantageous — benefits to consider:

Healthcare flexible-spending account: This type of account is a pretax benefit account you can use to cover a variety of healthcare products and services, from acupuncture and physical therapy to vaccines and over-the-counter medicine. (Note that OTC medicines are only eligible when prescribed by a physician.) You can put up to $2,550 of tax-free money into this account in 2015, and save about 30% on healthcare expenses with the tax break, WageWorks reports.

Commuter benefits: These are often overlooked, but they can save you over $600 each year, WageWorks tells The Wall Street Journal. The concept is simple: Employees can use pretax money from their paychecks to cover mass-transit passes — including the train, subway, bus, ferry, and parking.

Fitness-reimbursement program: Depending on your employer, you could receive reimbursements for many common health-related expenses, such as gym-membership fees, fitness classes, or sports-league teams. While you're looking into fitness reimbursements, check out other expenses your company may reimburse, such as cellphone plans, moving costs, or professional-development classes.

Talk to your human-resources department to understand the scope of what's available to you.

On a similar note, invest in your health — consider using your bonus for a gym membership, yoga classes, a juicer, fitness-magazine subscription, or anything else that will better your health and strengthen your mind.